Archive for August, 2017

NIGEL Short was absent from the British Championships, sponsored by Capital Developments Waterloo Ltd. He was otherwise engaged carving up the field at the strong Xtracon Open in Denmark. Short led with 6.5/7 until he came up against an inspired Baadur Jobava in the eighth round. Jobava won the event and Short finished equal second. Short then travelled to Abu Dhabi where he ended outright second behind Egyptian GM Bassem Amin.

THE Chinese Chess Federation hosted two head-to-head matches to give their leading GMs experience against elite players. As reported last week, Alexander Grischuk defeated Yu Yangyi in late July. Three weeks ago, Chinese number one Ding Liren faced Anish Giri and lost 1.5-2.5 after Giri won the second game, in some style.

With 10…Be6 Giri accepts pawn weaknesses in return for activity. These kinds of positions can be hard for Black to play as if his initiative subsides, his doubled e-pawns are a long-term weakness. With 13…a5 Giri prevents b2-b4 and, as Ding Liren struggles to find a good plan, he directs all his forces to the kingside and breaks through with a sacrifice.

This Wednesday’s second-to-last Speed Chess Championship opening-round clash will feature the world’s new number-two and the youngest player of the event.
GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, fresh off his career’s marquee victory at the 2017 Sinquef…

Summer is not the time for pros to take a vacation. With tournaments in Paris, Leuven, Biel, St. Louis, Dortmund, Danzhou, Geneva, Khanty-Mansiysk, and many others, the news section has been crowded with tales of 2700s and 2800s plying their trade…

Winning a top chess tournament by a three-point margin normally captures the headlines but Levon Aronian’s impressive result at the St Louis speed event last week was sweepingly upstaged by Garry Kasparov’s return to competitive play after a 12-year absence. This one-off comeback by the 54-year-old, whom many regard as the all-time No1 ahead of Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen, sparked a tidal wave of interest, with six-figure internet audiences reportedly watching the live video. It was gripping stuff, too, as Kasparov showed his old skills with deep strategic plans yet for most of the event simply could not or would not handle his clock time sensibly. He took 22 minutes to his opponent’s four in a 25-minute rapid game, and spent two of his five minutes for blitz on a single move. He was often down to a few seconds at the end of his games. For a while the chess legend was …

In a later episode of “Seinfeld,” wacky neighbor Cosmo Kramer is lost in downtown Manhattan at the intersection of “first” and “first.”
The “nexus of the universe” nearly repeated itself Thursday at Chess.com’s Speed Chess Championship, as …

In a later episode of “Seinfeld,” wacky neighbor Cosmo Kramer is lost in downtown Manhattan at the intersection of “first” and “first.”
The “nexus of the universe” nearly repeated itself Thursday at Chess.com’s Speed Chess Championship, as …

At a time when prisons are in the news due to increasing violence, drug taking and low morale, it has never been more important to focus on education and rehabilitation.

Chess makes a difference because it is a fantastic metaphor for life. We must think before making our move, and accept that our decisions have consequences. It also teaches us to learn from our mistakes and to develop a more disciplined approach to problem solving. Perhaps most importantly of all, it is a constructive use of time and helps to forge friendships.

Chess Behind Bars offers a guide to chess in prisons that will instruct and entertain regardless of your situation. It covers almost every aspect of chess imaginable – from the rules to chess history, from puzzles to famous games, and even some tips for improvement. It is a smorgasbord of chess, seen from an unusual angle.

Chess can and does change lives, and Carl Portman believes that everyone should have the opportunity to learn the game. After all, the prison community knows that there is a dream behind every door.

Carl Portman is the English Chess Federation’s Manager of Chess in Prisons. In 2015 he was awarded the ECF President’s award for services to chess.